"We were both kids," said Tammy Baldwin. "Who knows what to do in those situations?"

This was Tuesday at a dining room table in Milwaukee. Here was Baldwin, a Democratic U.S. senator, talking with Morgan Thomas, a 29-year-old mother of four.

They were talking about the opioid crisis, two daughters reflecting on their parents' addiction. Only, it wasn't big picture. It was as personal as Thomas calling Baldwin "Miss Tammy."

Baldwin, who faces re-election, has begun to share the story of her late mother's addiction to narcotics, of being a little girl and trying to make things right, of cleaning the house, of not understanding what was actually happening.

And Thomas was sharing her story, too, of growing up with a father who was addicted to drugs.

Throughout her political career, Baldwin has kept much of her personal life under wraps. Her parents divorced when she was young and she was raised by her grandparents.

Her mother, Pamela Joan Bin-Rella, 75, died in August. She was a social worker. The death announcement provided the first glimpse of a complicated story: "Pam’s professional calling was no coincidence as she struggled throughout her own life with mental illness, addiction, physical illnesses and hospitalizations. She confronted these challenges with courage and humor."

Tammy Baldwin (left) in an undated photo with her mother, Pamela Joan Bin-Rella.(Photo: Baldwin family photo)

Baldwin said she felt the time was right to tell her family story, especially since she has heard powerful testimony from others.

"My mother was 19 when I was born," Baldwin said. "She was going through a divorce. And she had struggles with mental illness. She was ultimately diagnosed as bipolar. That diagnosis didn't come until many, many years later.

"But she also had various physical conditions and illnesses that resulted in chronic and really acute pain. And not unlike so many of the stories I've heard these days, she was prescribed powerful narcotics to help her deal with the pain."

Baldwin said her mother took the drugs as instructed for parts of her life but also took more than she was prescribed "for certain parts of her life" and was "oftentimes debilitated in her addiction."

Baldwin said that on one hand, she had the stability of being raised by her grandparents but she also "loved" her mother and spent time with her.

"As a kid I always wanted to figure out, can I help fix this," she said. "That's really big for a little kid. And I have lots of memories of good times, great times, she was trained as a social worker and worked for awhile helping children, working with foster parents. But sometimes her addiction was too much."

"In the power of sharing stories, I wanted you to know this epidemic hits close to home for me, and I know for so many, and for you," Baldwin told Thomas.

The senator then listened as Thomas told of dealing with her father's addiction, the pain and helplessness it caused. Thomas was 16 when her mother died. For years, she said, she "kept everything" private about the problems faced by her father. But she has moved forward with the help of therapists.

Baldwin said, "In between mental illness and addiction, people seem to do things that are beyond their control, hurtful to others. It's a powerful thing, addiction. We need to help more people get help. But we also have to recognize the impact on family members."

Growing up, Baldwin visited her mother on weekends. Her mother was often asleep and Baldwin sought to be "really good."

"As a little kid, I felt like I was trying to fix things and I always failed. You can't cure somebody's mental illness," she said. "You can't cure their addiction. I was a little kid and I didn't know better.

"If I could talk to that little kid again, I would say, 'Love her. This isn't some thing you can come in and fix.' "

Baldwin said when she got older, there were times she persuaded her mother to go into treatment.

"The problem with her addiction was it was always prescribed. There was always a doctor saying she needs this. But not someone there to make sure she didn't take too many pills," she said.

Baldwin recalled getting a call from an emergency room when her mother, who had chronic back pain, came in with more than one fentanyl patch on her back.

Thomas asked Baldwin why she was coming forward to tell her story. Baldwin said she was a private person in a very public life, but that she had heard from so many others who discussed addiction and sought to take away the stigma.

"What good does it do if everyone just keeps their little secrets?" she said. "How are we really going to understand that this affects all of us? I hardly know anybody who hasn't been impacted by this."